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I recently acquired a 1966 Plymouth Satellite that up until 2 years ago, when it was last driven, was regularly drag raced at BIR in Minnesota. It was owned and raced by my uncle who passed away earlier this year. He bought it in 2013 with a 440 stroked to 502ci putting out 505hp and 603 ft/lbs. He bought a new engine in 2016, a 440 stroked to 512ci that on the dyno put out 696hp and 670 ft/lbs but the next dyno session brought it down to 620hp and 600 ft/lbs. Along with the new engine he paired it to a 727 transmission that he worked up to survive the new power.  It's sitting on drag slicks right now but he had a set of 315 wide road tires in the garage but I didn't see a DOT date code to determine how old they are (honestly I didn't look very hard).  The interior was slightly stripped while adding the roll cage. Stock seats are long gone, replaced by racing buckets and harness. The rear seats are still installed but currently full of some spare parts including the driveshaft.   It looks like a lot of the stock wiring was removed (I really don't know how much it had to begin with) and these switches were added at some point. One switch is hidden behind the shifter, labelled "CC", any guess as to what that does?  Opening the trunk shows the tubbed wheel wells to make room for the slicks, the fuel cell (110 octane race fuel only, from the documentation I found), and the battery.  Where I stand now I have no idea what I'm doing kidding but not really. I want to turn this into a street car, or as much of a street car as I can. I know it has drag suspension, and a "tied frame" but I don't know how that will affect things. This is my first carbureted car engine so that's going to be fun. The last time it was at the track he was kicked out for an "oil leak". It currently doesn't have the driveshaft installed so without the ziplock I put around the transmission extension housing, it'd be dumping the rest of the transmission fluid so right now I'm assuming the leak is coming from the transmission (possibly the seal on the end of the extension housing?). The engine doesn't have a goddamn dipstick (that I can find) so I have no idea if it has oil, although it's probably due for an oil change anyway since it hasn't been driven in a couple years. The transmission might have a dipstick, but I'll probably change that fluid out too while I'm at it. I'm not sure if there is coolant either; I opened the cap and didn't see any and squeezing the hoses didn't inspire much confidence. The valve covers have these T-bar valve cover nuts. Not sure what the point is, but I have a full set so I suppose I'll install the rest that are still in the original packaging.  No spark plugs installed. I have at least two sets of new plugs, just need to get them installed. I'm considering doing a compression test before I put the spark plugs in, if only just to make sure all 8 cylinders have compression before I try to start it. I also need to figure out the spark plug wires and where each one plugs in. That should be easy to figure out referencing the distributor, but still something I need to do. What else should I do with the engine prior to starting it? I have a rough idea of the shift pattern for the transmission but without any way to see what gear it's currently in. Might change out the shifter at some point. It doesn't have an exhaust beyond the headers. I have two mufflers that were purchased a couple years ago but never installed. Not worried about that now but my neighbors are gonna be pissed. My wife thinks the car is cool but that only goes so far so I'm trying to keep this reasonable. I think this is something I can handle, but I'm not attached to it so worst case I'll get it running again and sell it to someone who wants to keep racing it.
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Sep 14, 2023 02:06
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LloydDobler posted:the only responsible place to really taste what it can do will be at a track Yeah, my wife is already talking about bringing it out to Gingerman. Nidhg00670000 posted:The T-bolt valve fasteners are for quicker access, some people are concerned that repeated hard runs down the track warrant pulling the valve covers and checking the lash on their solid lifter cams. That makes sense, there was a lot of documentation on lash adjustments in the stack of paperwork. IOwnCalculus posted:This, and also it must have been a fairly substantial leak. Tech inspectors before they let you onto the track don't usually get picky about things that don't look like they could be actively dripping while running, so if they sent him home after doing a pass that was a lot of fluid down. The leak is 2nd hand info so I don't know anything other than "he was kicked out for leaking oil on the track" but yeah I'm sure it was substantial.
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Sep 14, 2023 18:11
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boxen posted:How likely is it that the missing dipstick tube and the severe oil leak that got him kicked off the track are related? That's a really good question. It seems to be pretty common to not have a dipstick tube, like if you want one you have to pull the oil pan and drill out a cover from the inside. I'll have to track down the exact location of where it should be and see if there's a hole. Mosquitos are pretty oppressive in Michigan right now so I haven't had much time outside other than to take some pics and get some repairs done to the trailer. e: I just realized I didn't include a full pic of the monster engine 
two_beer_bishes fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Sep 14, 2023 |
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Sep 14, 2023 23:55
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NitroSpazzz posted:Is there a drag strip at or near Gingerman raceway or are you taking a drag car to a road course? Either way I think they have a strip at Gingerman but I don't know for sure. I'd love to take it on a road course but that's probably not the best idea. We're in SE Michigan so I can't imagine it'll be tough to find a spot to drive it. Ambassadorofsodomy posted:If you can't find the dipstick and don't know how whether or not it has oil in it, just drain the oil to be sure, and then fill it. Yep, that's the plan. Applebees Appetizer posted:The 440 is the best sounding V8 ever made. Please post a burnout video once you get it running. The documents for the transmission specify to do burnouts in 2nd or 3rd gear, and NOT 1st gear. Glad I saw that! Commodore_64 posted:I'm not sure, but that evacuator line (or its predecessor!) from the valve cover looks like it could have melted off on the header. Doubt that woulda blasted THAT much oil out, but still it needs a look. I scratched at that with my fingernail and it barely felt raised so it might just be residue from a sticker or something, no idea. boxen posted:If it was a crate motor, they might not have installed one due to a wide variety of customer requirements. I don't know much about big block Mopars, but I don't THINK a stroker crank causes dipstick issues until you get really silly? Thanks for sharing, that's some good info!
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Sep 15, 2023 14:39
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Figured out the CC switch, it's actually "LL" for line lock! Two other hand drawn diagrams had it written more clearly as LL.
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Sep 15, 2023 23:26
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Tinkered with the car a little today. I finished replacing the valve cover nuts with the T-bar things that the PO had started to install. I found the spot in the block where the dipstick should be and it is blocked off, so that answers that question. I jacked up the back end of the car to try to minimize the transmission leak but I need to get the trans blanket off so I can get a better view of the transmission case.
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Sep 17, 2023 18:45
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Currently draining the old oil. Holy poo poo the magnetic drain plug was dirty, I don't think it was ever cleaned! The oil coming out looked pretty good but still not having any idea how much was in there, I still feel better doing a full oil/filter change. Dirty  Clean  I got all four corners up the in the air to give myself more room. After poking around for a few minutes I noticed something. Looks like I'm going down the same path as my uncle before he stopped working on this.  I removed the transmission mount and crossbar to try to wiggle the blanket out but it feels like it's still attached to something so I'm assuming it goes around the shifter. I'm going to put that off for now. There's been a slow but steady drip of transmission fluid that isn't coming from the rear seal so let's follow the drops! Oh  gently caress, that's a crack  When we initially pulled the car out of my uncle's garage and started going through things to see what parts and tools we wanted to take, anything clean or new caught my eye and ended up in the pile. Thankfully this thing was sitting nearby!  I don't know if the oil seal that's installed is new so I'm going to replace that while it's out along with anything else I can determine to be a wear item. I found some helpful parts diagrams and even a PDF of the service manual so once I get a parts list together and ordered, I'm hoping it'll go together easily. Any idea who made this aluminum radiator? It's probably not very important to know but I'd like to have an idea if anyone recognizes the name or logo. 
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Sep 19, 2023 18:16
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boxen posted:Looks like Northern Radiator. Sure does, thanks!
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Sep 19, 2023 18:37
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I drained the trans to reduce spillage when I remove the extension housing and finally had enough room to pull the transmission blanket out. I took out the bolts holding the housing on and wiggled it a little to make a gap for any remaining fluid to drain out.  Parts are on order for installing the replacement housing so besides removing the broken housing, I probably won't get much else done for a few days. From what I can tell the cars of this era didn't usually come with expansion/overflow tanks, and this is an aftermarket radiator, but should something be hooked up to this? 
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Sep 20, 2023 21:08
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IOwnCalculus posted:Hell, track tech would be much happier with that. This alone is why I'm surprised this car doesn't already have an overflow.
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Sep 21, 2023 13:18
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Hahaha
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Sep 21, 2023 17:33
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Ambassadorofsodomy posted:That's not supposed to be there is it? Less than ideal, I think Boaz MacPhereson posted:
This one just came off the trans, the spare is in much better shape. First shipment of rockauto stuff should arrive tomorrow so I should be able to get everything back together tomorrow or Saturday. I really need to organize the paperwork I have. Right now it's all crammed together in a paper grocery bag. It would be helpful if I had an engine folder, transmission folder, etc so I could go right to what I need but there isn't much motivation for that right now. So I need to dig through and find the engine paperwork that says how much oil I should put in, same with the transmission. If I can get everything buttoned up this weekend I think we'll be ready to fire it up!
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Sep 21, 2023 20:48
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Two new issues: I can't get the old oil filter off, even with a strap wrench thing. The radiator has a leak. New tail housing seal showed up today so I'm hoping I can get the transmission stuff all back together and install the driveshaft. I forgot to pick up transmission fluid while I was out but I have to go back to return the rental tool from O'Reilly's anyway. I was really hoping to get this thing started this weekend but I don't think that's going to happen with the radiator leak even if I can get this drat oil filter off.
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Sep 22, 2023 19:47
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boxen posted:Obvious suggestion: you can start an engine with no water in it and let it run for a bit (i dunno, maybe up to half a minute?) without much danger I think, although I'd remove the water pump belt if there is no water at all in the engine. If you can keep the coolant in the block (cap off the radiator hoses or whatever) that'd give you more time yet. That's a good point and got me thinking, why not just fill the system with water and let 'er rip since it'll be a temporary fill anyway. Boaz MacPhereson posted:I don't really know poo poo about Mopars That makes two of us but I'm slowly picking things up as I go
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Sep 22, 2023 21:49
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Ambassadorofsodomy posted:Use a pair of chain vice grips on that filter. Holy poo poo that looks medieval
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Sep 23, 2023 02:15
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Nidhg00670000 posted:Caution, I've had the chain links cut the filter in two if you don't tighten the pliers enough. That makes sense. I remember seeing a receipt for work on the driveshaft, I'll dig that out and see when that was done. Based on how clean it is, I'm guessing he got it back from the shop and never got around to installing it since he died before he could fix the housing.
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Sep 23, 2023 12:40
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The driveshaft was sent out in 2017 so there still might be a problem with that, or at least the u-joints. I'm going to look into new joints and a new trans mount since those are easy things to do. Edit: Found an invoice for a new driveshaft in 2018 too two_beer_bishes fucked around with this message at 16:58 on Sep 23, 2023 |
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Sep 23, 2023 16:55
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I found a store with the chain wrench thing and gave that a shot. But I'm an idiot and just realized that the one I bought doesn't have the vice-grip locking mechanism which is probably what hosed me today but the one I got felt like it was really tight on there. Also I probably hosed up by using it at the very end instead of right up by the housing. Anyway, here's a pic I took the radiator off to see if there's any way to repair it before I drop the money on a new one. What the gently caress is this poo poo?   edit: went out to lock up the shed and decided to give it another try with the chain right up against the base and it came right off. two_beer_bishes fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Sep 23, 2023 |
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Sep 23, 2023 23:18
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IOwnCalculus posted:
Yeah that's definitely happening. randomidiot posted:And the award for understatement of the year goes t It was hard to be surprised when I knew there was s substantial leak. If anything I'm thankful it was this part since it's easily replaceable and collateral damage was minimal.
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Sep 24, 2023 12:01
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NitroSpazzz posted:WTF? Flush every possible coolant passage as much as you possibly can. It doesn't look like metal (is it?) but maybe build up of some kind, maybe someone mixed coolant types or put some garbage stop leak stuff in there. It's definitely not metal, it feels soft when I crush it between fingers. I don't know what kind of coolants would have to mix to cause this, I've never seen anything like this. The water pump inlet has a little of this poo poo too so a full flush is on the list of things to do. Stop leak is possible too since the radiator clearly has a leak. I finished the oil change today and I'm done with everything related to the transmission except filling it with fluid but I'm going to wait until I get the driveshaft back in, which I learned is missing the u bolts for attaching it to the rear yoke. It's getting a little frustrating finding more and more stuff that needs to be done but thankfully nothing has been a show stopper. two_beer_bishes fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Sep 24, 2023 |
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Sep 24, 2023 19:47
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Just frustrated
two_beer_bishes fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Sep 25, 2023 |
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Sep 25, 2023 01:51
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Got the driveshaft installed today and started filling the transmission with fluid. I found a drain plug on each side of the block so that will make flushing it easier. I'm running out of time to get stuff done; I go back to work on Thursday so nothing is going to get done until I get home next week.
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Sep 25, 2023 18:58
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Quick update on the car: New radiator is here, I just need to track down a new lower radiator hose and get it all mounted up. I have the battery on a charger right now but it's 50/50 if it's strong enough to start the engine. It's cooling down here in Michigan so my window for driving it this year is slowly closing. I feel like I'm really close to doing so, but I still need to get new bolts for the engine mounts since two are missing  Oh and figure out the shift pattern of the transmission. It's in park right now but I'd like to iron out where reverse is since it's currently pulled nose first into my car port.
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Oct 6, 2023 23:16
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I've been prepping for a job interview so car work has been on the back burner, and I'm going back to work tomorrow so expect another quiet week. I finally tracked down the correct radiator hoses but I need to fab up new mounts which I didn't expect I would have to do. I still want to drive this at some point but a lot of the electrics have been stripped so stuff like the turn signals don't work. Electrical stuff doesn't worry me, it's just going to take time. I still want to get this out on the road before winter!
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Oct 13, 2023 01:41
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I finally got the new radiator mounted up and filled with coolant. I connected the battery and turned it over a few times to get the water pump to move it through the system. There's a way to prime the oil pump by removing the distributor and using a drill. I really don't know how to do that without loving up the distributor timing (will it gently caress it up?) so I need to read up on that before attempting that. Once I'm confident the engine will have oil pressure upon startup, I just have to get the spark plugs installed and we'll be ready to fire her up!
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Oct 26, 2023 18:29
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Thanks for the tips guys, that seems to be inline with what the manuals say.Raluek posted:i would probably not want to deal with all that and would probably just crank it with the plugs out until i got oil pressure, but my engines probably have at least one fewer zero than yours on the pricetag. But this is really what I want to do. It's going to be below freezing next week so I really need to make sure coolant has been distributed throughout the block and I can't think of a better way than to just crank it for a bit (while also giving the starter time to cool down).
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Oct 27, 2023 17:19
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I flushed it to get as much of that crud out as possible. Also  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBg696ieF8k Edit: Interior view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U1shKyjCtM I can't believe how loud this loving thing is. I'll have to get an actual exhaust installed at some point! two_beer_bishes fucked around with this message at 13:39 on Oct 28, 2023 |
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Oct 28, 2023 01:13
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Raluek posted:gotta take the shorts part out of the url for the second one. Thanks, I don't upload to youtube very often so that was new to me.
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Oct 28, 2023 13:41
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I'm looking at some exhaust options from TTI (2.5in vs 3in and X vs H pipe, leaning towards 3in H-pipe but I need to make sure it'll fit with all the modifications this car has) but I don't know that I'll make a move on that this year. In the meantime, I'd like to run the engine long enough to get it up to temp but I can't do that in it's current state. Since I have two mufflers already, is there any reason why I couldn't just connect them directly to the headers?
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Nov 6, 2023 14:40
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Yeah you can do that no problem as long as they fit, and usually guys put little dumps on the end of the mufflers to point it towards the ground, I don't know if that's better for sound or fumes or both. Yeah they fit but definitely hang down a bit. I'm just waiting on my night shift neighbors to wake up before I start shaking houses. e: verdict, it's still really loving loud but a little easier on the ears. two_beer_bishes fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Nov 6, 2023 |
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Nov 6, 2023 20:51
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Raluek posted:if you're going to leave it like that for a while, maybe use some bailing wire or something to take some of the weight off. couple wraps around the muffler and crossmember or something. they're probably light enough to cantilever, but why put undue stress on those header bolts? Great point, I have the ends resting on jack stands right now. It's all very easy to remove so when I do park it for the winter I'm just going to pull the mufflers off to minimize the chances of any damage. IOwnCalculus posted:If the goal is just being able to start and warm it up... pick a day and time least likely to be obnoxious to your neighbors and wear earpro? This is what I'm going to have to do. I hate being that neighbor though, the guys next door both work nights and my carport the car is under is right next to their house. I might give it another shot this afternoon if I have time to. CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:Oh already was a show case, my bad Thanks for the support, it has really cooled down here so work will be sporadic for the next month or so while I still have the motivation to pick at some easy stuff like electrical projects to help prepare it for street duty next year.
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Nov 7, 2023 13:58
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Cactus Ghost posted:lmao the lady's (your wife?) reaction to starting the car was perfect She heard me cranking it over earlier in the day when I was making sure the oil pump was primed. She thought I was trying to start it so she wasn't expecting it to start so easily or quickly like that, plus the noise. Lots of noise. She's a great sport when it comes to this stuff. She asked me what it would take to turn this car into something that could handle a road course like Gingerman since that's within driving distance for us.
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Nov 10, 2023 17:49
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boxen posted:"Only some money" It hasn't been ruled out yet! I need to get some wheel time just driving it around here before I can commit to such a project. Just off the top of my head, it'll need suspension, brakes, and tires at a minimum. But the biggest problem might be the transmission, it's a 727 "racing" unit designed for the strip whatever that entails so it might not be great on a road track. Thing to figure out in the summer.
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Nov 11, 2023 22:16
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Cached Money posted:Manual swap. I've started researching if that's possible, looks like the A833 is probably the easiest to work with. One thing I read said the crankshaft needs something drilled out and right now I have no idea if that's the case with mine.
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Nov 12, 2023 21:19
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That's some good info, thanks! So far my research has been pretty much "can I ..." so I haven't gotten into anything technical yet.
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Nov 13, 2023 03:05
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About to pull the trigger on a new exhaust. I'm looking at a TTi 3in header-back since it's reasonable priced and seems to be highly regarded in the B body community. The website has a few footnotes about fitment issues, one being if the rear springs were relocated. Thankfully I found a post my uncle had made a few years ago on the b body forums where he said specifically that the rear springs were relocated inward to the frame rails. The TTi guy said considering the rest of the car setup it'll most likely still work but I'll have to source some different mufflers that will fit. I did some freelance "IT" work for my MIL's friend who opted to pay way more than my time off is worth so a couple of days of helping her out is pretty much paying for this entire expense! Up next will be deciding on road tires. In other news, after years of beating her down, I've finally talked my wife into getting a kit car in a couple years once I've had my fun with this car. I'll end up selling this car before I get that project going and most likely I'll sell my supercharged BRZ once the kit is complete.
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Jan 19, 2024 22:16
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Raluek posted:hopefully once you have it a bit more set up for the street, you'll get too used to driving it around and not want to ditch it anytime soon I have fairly low expectations for how streetable this is going to be. The small fuel cell is something I could deal with but the race fuel combined with that is going to make it a huge pain in the rear end. But really it comes down to what we want in our garage and a drag car really isn't on the list. If this wasn't my uncle's I wouldn't have ever considered it. But I have every intention on enjoying the hell out of it while it's ours. As far as value goes, I don't think it's all that valuable, maybe mid 20s at the most.
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Jan 20, 2024 13:07
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Exhaust has arrived! I picked up a new battery this morning and made some progress on the electrical system mysteries but it's too cold to do much else this week. I'm also pretty sure I have the shift pattern figured out. The list: Install exhaust, get road tires, top off transmission fluid (need to get the engine to operating temp for this), bleed the brakes, install driver side seat harness, install new engine mount bolts, torque down the transmission crossbar.
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Feb 14, 2024 22:46
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Quick update to keep this out of the archives. Haven't made much progress lately due to a bunch of preventative maintenance on my wife's car and my brz that I just pulled out of winter storage. I've been picking away at the exhaust but it's a real bitch because of the rear spring relocation. Lots of trial & error with different mufflers but I still haven't found something that works perfectly. I might just forgo the tailpipes and put in a downturn right after the mufflers ahead of the rear axle, at least to get it driving.
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Apr 10, 2024 22:20
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boxen posted:Completely reasonable. You might get fumes in the passenger compartment I suppose, but if it's bad or too loud it will at least get you to a muffler shop where they can weld up whatever you want. No AC so windows will always be down, I also don't want to have to wear earplugs. Side exit is a great idea though, I know someone who can help me with the finishing touches when I'm ready for it!
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Apr 11, 2024 00:44
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